This invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus having a disc exchange function. More particularly, it relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus in which plural disc cartridges are housed within each of plural toroidally arranged housing sections, and in which desired ones of the disc cartridges are sequentially selected and taken out for recording and/or reproducing music signals on or from discs contained in the selected disc cartridges.
There has hitherto been employed a disc player apparatus in which plural disc cartridges are contained in a main member of the apparatus and in which desired ones of the disc cartridges are sequentially selected and loaded on a disc driving unit so that information signals, such as music signals, recorded on the discs housed within the disc cartridges, will be reproduced continuously.
This type of the disc player apparatus has a cartridge housing sections for housing plural disc cartridges and a cartridge transporting mechanism for selectively taking out a desired one of the disc cartridges out of the cartridge housing sections for loading on a disc driving unit.
With the conventional disc player apparatus, having the disc exchange function, the cartridge housing sections are fixedly arranged within the main body of the apparatus. Consequently, for accommodating a large number of the disc cartridges, the cartridge housing sections need to be increased in size, thus increasing the size of the apparatus. On the other hand, if a large number of the disc cartridges are housed within each of the cartridge housing sections, the cartridge housing sections are increased in size. In addition, the disc cartridge transporting distance from the cartridge housing sections to the disc driving unit is increased, such that the cartridge transporting mechanism has to be increased in size. As a result, it becomes difficult to reduce the size of the disc player apparatus.